Now over 1000 miles completed in Spain. Language improving slowly. Heading for Nerja next to try to rent for overwinter in that area. Dennis Bedford (see below 20/10) has risen to the challenge of 1litre of wine by purchasing same at 45cents (our previous best 49) - we will continue research into this!!!
14/10 - fantastic ride over the mountains south of Oliva to Altea. Great views, 638m pass then down to Bullola to find the road completely washed away in the recent floods. Not to be thwarted, we stripped all the luggage from the bikes & carried all piecemeal around the washout, hanging onto the one remaining crash barrier as we went. Great weather.
15/10 - Sunny all day again. Cycled coast road via Benidorm (busy) & Alicante to Santa Pola (really friendly campsite with complete mixture of nationalities). Sue fell off again 50m from the campsite - fortunately going slowly so little damage to her or the bike - she is getting better at falling off with practice!!!. Contacted Chris Slade to arrange to meet him Wednesday night.
16/10 - Checked out Santa Pola & Elche. Heavy rain in Elche (we were in the bar!) caused river to turn from a 1m wide & deep stream to a 10m wide & ?deep torrent in 2 hours.
17/10 - Rest day, walked to shops & cycled only 10 miles!. Great lunch at beach side cafe S of St Pola, 12 Sardinhos each! Met Chris & Jackie Slade in the evening, drinks chez Slade & meal at their favourite local. Great to see them - some reminiscing about the old ECC days!!! Heavy rain overnight.
18/10 - Rained on & off most of morning. Got to Orihuela for lunch & booked into hotel. Interesting town to walk round - old palaces & churches etc.
19/10 - Cycled fertile valley with mountains either side. Busy as we approached Murcia, but worth a visit for the great Cathedral. Out on increasingly quiet roads to Alhamar & Tohana campsite.
20/10 - Great weather & flat roads most of the day, passing through fields of lettuce & chillies. Passed thru Lorca then Pulpi to Urcal. Last 8kms a climb in mid-pm heat! Rewarded with cold beers at Dennis & Beryl's lovely house overlooking the valley & surrounding mountain scenery. Great to see them enjoying their new life in Spain. Very impressed with Dennis' mastery of Spanish. Also they had managed to arrange a local fiesta in Huercal Overa for us, with all 10,000 inhabitants attending in our honour!!!. Fantastic firework display at midnight. Chicken & chips Spanish style followed by a waffle like sticky substance to die for - full of sugar, covered in sweet sauce & cream - felt your teeth rotting with every bite! Saw Hoopoe & Little Owl.
21/10 - Wonderful breakfast to set us on our way - smoked salmon & scrambled eggs! Straightforward run to Los Gallardos except for 2km off road to avoid Autovia.
22/10 - Sunny all day. Back roads 1st, then climbing into the foothills of the Sierra to 'Little Hollywood' where Spag Westerns were filmed. On thru fantastic desert landscape to Alhamar de Almeria. Stopped for coffee at garage here & were entertained with flamenco music by 3 men in a van filling with petrol! Spa hotel with wonderful balcony view from our room. - recommended by the local tourist office lady who spoke no English but could understand our french!
23/10 - Climbing most of the day thru wonderful mountain scenery of the Sierra Nevada. Pass at 1015m high with 30 vultures circling above & a Golden Eagle soaring south. Stayed at Berja for the night (valley full of plastic greenhouses!). 2 lovely ladies running the hotel spoke no English but explained everything by miming - very amusing.
24/10 - Down main road to Adra, then busy N340 coast road via 3 tunnels to Motril! Quiet campsite by Med. Checked out Salobrena then had tapas in Puerto Del Motril bar.
25/10 - Cycled without luggage to Almunecar. Flood damage still apparent. Pleasant seaside resort.
Thursday 25 October 2007
Saturday 13 October 2007
Orange Blossom Coast
Over 650 miles completed in Spain so far, camped versus hotels roughly 50/50 (all due to campsite availability). Record drinkable red wine price now 49cents/litre!!! Bullrunning season here & many towns seem to have their version of this with great iron fences protecting shop fronts & crowds.
09/10 - Main & coast roads to Vinaros & Peniscola. Camped at Benacassim.
10/10 - Back roads thru Castellon, then lovely orange grove roads to the old town of Sagunto. Oranges just ripening now for harvest. Great sunny weather. Camped at Pucol, rainstorm at night.
11/10 - Dry in the morning. Found good cycle route in to Valencia City. Lunched in the old centre, then out on another good cycle route down the Albufera coast to El Saler to camp. Met American cyclists Rob & Alice at the site. Very heavy storms overnight but our tent & pitch ok - Rob & Alice wet!
12/10 - Parts of the site heavily flooded. Decided to stay another night here to let weather settle a bit. Cycled out around the Alburfera nature reserve area - thousands of herons & egrets on paddy rice fields. Had great lunch in El Saler.
13/10 - Early start, down the coast to Cellura (nice clean place), & on to Gandia & overnight at Oliva. Saturday so many lycra-clad groups of cyclists out today! Fab weather again - 24 degs.
09/10 - Main & coast roads to Vinaros & Peniscola. Camped at Benacassim.
10/10 - Back roads thru Castellon, then lovely orange grove roads to the old town of Sagunto. Oranges just ripening now for harvest. Great sunny weather. Camped at Pucol, rainstorm at night.
11/10 - Dry in the morning. Found good cycle route in to Valencia City. Lunched in the old centre, then out on another good cycle route down the Albufera coast to El Saler to camp. Met American cyclists Rob & Alice at the site. Very heavy storms overnight but our tent & pitch ok - Rob & Alice wet!
12/10 - Parts of the site heavily flooded. Decided to stay another night here to let weather settle a bit. Cycled out around the Alburfera nature reserve area - thousands of herons & egrets on paddy rice fields. Had great lunch in El Saler.
13/10 - Early start, down the coast to Cellura (nice clean place), & on to Gandia & overnight at Oliva. Saturday so many lycra-clad groups of cyclists out today! Fab weather again - 24 degs.
Monday 8 October 2007
Down the Rio Ebro
A great weeks cycling (321 miles) to get to the Med. In Tortosa now (08/10/2007), about to head down the Med coast towards Valencia. Diary below :-
02/10 - quiet roads to Mendavia, then main road to Calahorra. Met young German touring cyclist doing the Pilgrims Way.He reported terrible storms coming through the Pyrennes!
03/10 - great back roads to Rincon Somo, then onto Cordella & Tudela. Harvesting vines on the way,using immigrant workers -hard manual labour. Also chillies drying from many balconies.
04/10 - Sue front puncture (glass) delayed start. Wonderful quiet roads in Ebro valley to Añagon, then awful main road into Zaragoza, equivalent of cycling 18 miles down the hard shoulder of M1! Saw vultures on roadside cliffs near Remolinos. Olive groves replacing vines now. Good Tapas in the evening.
05/10 - Better effort at getting out of Zaragoza alongside main road rather than on it! Even went "off road" at one point! Turned south into the hills via Azalia to Pueblo de la Hijar. No vegetation in the hills but shepherds with large flocks of sheep, eating what?
06/10 - Great weather all day, & good roads. Found local shop in Estacion De La Pueblo de la Hijar - looked like an ordinary house, had to ask local! Camped at Lake Caspe.
07/10 - Again great roads & weather. Some wonderful mountain views & rides down gorges to the Ebro fertile plains. Stayed in Tortosa-great Tapas and fantastic fresh food Mercado.
02/10 - quiet roads to Mendavia, then main road to Calahorra. Met young German touring cyclist doing the Pilgrims Way.He reported terrible storms coming through the Pyrennes!
03/10 - great back roads to Rincon Somo, then onto Cordella & Tudela. Harvesting vines on the way,using immigrant workers -hard manual labour. Also chillies drying from many balconies.
04/10 - Sue front puncture (glass) delayed start. Wonderful quiet roads in Ebro valley to Añagon, then awful main road into Zaragoza, equivalent of cycling 18 miles down the hard shoulder of M1! Saw vultures on roadside cliffs near Remolinos. Olive groves replacing vines now. Good Tapas in the evening.
05/10 - Better effort at getting out of Zaragoza alongside main road rather than on it! Even went "off road" at one point! Turned south into the hills via Azalia to Pueblo de la Hijar. No vegetation in the hills but shepherds with large flocks of sheep, eating what?
06/10 - Great weather all day, & good roads. Found local shop in Estacion De La Pueblo de la Hijar - looked like an ordinary house, had to ask local! Camped at Lake Caspe.
07/10 - Again great roads & weather. Some wonderful mountain views & rides down gorges to the Ebro fertile plains. Stayed in Tortosa-great Tapas and fantastic fresh food Mercado.
Monday 1 October 2007
Head for the Med
Had an eventful ride down from Dorchester to Plymouth on 24th & 25th Sept. Lovely stay as always with Ian & Janet at Exeter, then a memorable ride over Haldon via Exeter Racecourse to Ashburton. Coffee courtesy of Glendinnings, lunch courtesy of Julia & Clive at the Cafe. Then to Jeannie & Roly in Plymouth & a lovely steak.The cyclimg glasses and camera box are invaluable so thanks Jeannie and good luck Roly in S America
Great ferry crossing to Santander 26th pm & overnight, arriving 8.30am Thursday 27th.
Since then we have been acclimatising to Spain. Progress slower than planned as we are spending more time stopping & enjoying the country. Less campsites available due to the lateness in the season, so we have stayed a couple of nights in "Pensions", in mainly lisyed buildings. Have finally worked out how to ask for grass in the few campsites there are, so a softer pitch than first few nights. We are roughly following a medieval route so fantastic castles and churches.
Weather generally good, little rain, some sun, great temperatures. Have seen some eagles/vultures (not sure which) & are gradually picking up some lingo!
Currently in Logrono (fine University town) on the Ebro River in Rioja country (wine sampling a must from 12euro = mikes birthday, to everday 65 cents)
Carrying on down the Ebro valley for the next few days.
Great ferry crossing to Santander 26th pm & overnight, arriving 8.30am Thursday 27th.
Since then we have been acclimatising to Spain. Progress slower than planned as we are spending more time stopping & enjoying the country. Less campsites available due to the lateness in the season, so we have stayed a couple of nights in "Pensions", in mainly lisyed buildings. Have finally worked out how to ask for grass in the few campsites there are, so a softer pitch than first few nights. We are roughly following a medieval route so fantastic castles and churches.
Weather generally good, little rain, some sun, great temperatures. Have seen some eagles/vultures (not sure which) & are gradually picking up some lingo!
Currently in Logrono (fine University town) on the Ebro River in Rioja country (wine sampling a must from 12euro = mikes birthday, to everday 65 cents)
Carrying on down the Ebro valley for the next few days.
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